Traffic-Intersection-Monitoring/qt_app_pyside1/docs/MQTT_INFLUXDB_GRAFANA_IMPLEMENTATION.md

Hybrid Desktop + Services Architecture Implementation Plan

Overview

This implementation adds MQTT + InfluxDB + Grafana to create a professional-grade monitoring system alongside the existing PySide6 desktop application.

Architecture

Desktop App (PySide6) → MQTT Broker → InfluxDB → Grafana Dashboard
       ↓                    ↓              ↓            ↓
Qt Signals         Real-time Events   Time Series    Rich Analytics
Local UI           MQTT Topics        Database       Visualizations

Phase 1: Prerequisites & Downloads

1.1 Download Required Software (No Accounts Needed)

Mosquitto MQTT Broker

• Download: https://mosquitto.org/download/
• File: mosquitto-2.0.18-install-windows-x64.exe
• Size: ~8MB
• Purpose: Message broker for real-time event streaming

InfluxDB v2

• Download: https://portal.influxdata.com/downloads/
• File: influxdb2-2.7.4-windows-amd64.zip
• Size: ~90MB
• Purpose: Time series database for metrics storage

Grafana

• Download: https://grafana.com/grafana/download?platform=windows
• File: grafana-10.2.2.windows-amd64.zip
• Size: ~180MB
• Purpose: Analytics dashboard and visualization

1.2 Python Dependencies

pip install paho-mqtt influxdb-client grafana-api requests-async asyncio

Phase 2: Service Installation

2.1 Install Mosquitto MQTT

1. Run mosquitto installer as Administrator
2. Install to default location: C:\Program Files\mosquitto\
3. Will create Windows service automatically
4. Default port: 1883 (unencrypted), 8883 (encrypted)

2.2 Setup InfluxDB

1. Extract InfluxDB zip to C:\InfluxDB\
2. Create data directory: C:\InfluxDB\data\
3. Will run as standalone service
4. Default port: 8086 (HTTP API)

2.3 Setup Grafana

1. Extract Grafana zip to C:\Grafana\
2. Create configuration directory
3. Will run as standalone service
4. Default port: 3000 (Web UI)

Phase 3: Configuration Files

3.1 Mosquitto Configuration

File: C:\Program Files\mosquitto\mosquitto.conf

# Smart Intersection MQTT Configuration
port 1883
listener 1883 0.0.0.0
allow_anonymous true
persistence true
persistence_location C:\Program Files\mosquitto\data\
log_dest file C:\Program Files\mosquitto\logs\mosquitto.log
log_type all

3.2 InfluxDB Configuration

File: C:\InfluxDB\config.yml

http-bind-address: ":8086"
storage-engine: tsm1
storage-directory: C:\InfluxDB\data
storage-wal-directory: C:\InfluxDB\wal

3.3 Grafana Configuration

File: C:\Grafana\conf\defaults.ini (modify)

[server]
http_port = 3000
domain = localhost

[security]
admin_user = admin
admin_password = admin

[database]
type = sqlite3
path = grafana.db

Phase 4: Desktop Application Integration

4.1 MQTT Publisher Service

• Modify SmartIntersectionController to publish to MQTT topics
• Topics: traffic/detection, traffic/violations, traffic/performance
• Real-time event streaming

4.2 InfluxDB Writer Service

• Background service to write metrics to InfluxDB
• Time series data: FPS, object counts, processing times
• Automatic batching and error handling

4.3 Grafana Dashboard Integration

• Pre-configured dashboards for traffic analytics
• Real-time charts and graphs
• Alerting system for violations

Phase 5: Service Management

5.1 Windows Services Setup

• Create batch scripts to start/stop services
• Optional: Install as Windows services for auto-start
• Health monitoring and restart capabilities

5.2 Desktop Integration

• Add service status monitoring to desktop app
• Quick access buttons to open Grafana dashboards
• Service health indicators in UI

Resource Usage Estimates

• Mosquitto: ~5-10MB RAM
• InfluxDB: ~50-100MB RAM
• Grafana: ~100-150MB RAM
• Total Additional: ~200-300MB RAM

Benefits

✅ Professional monitoring and analytics ✅ Real-time event streaming via MQTT ✅ Rich Grafana dashboards
✅ Multiple device/remote access capability ✅ Time series data analysis ✅ Automated alerting system ✅ Scalable architecture

Implementation Timeline

• Phase 1-2: 30 minutes (downloads + installation)
• Phase 3: 15 minutes (configuration)
• Phase 4: 2 hours (desktop integration)
• Phase 5: 30 minutes (service management)
• Total: ~3-4 hours for complete implementation

Next Steps

1. Download required software
2. Follow installation guide
3. Configure services
4. Integrate with desktop application
5. Create Grafana dashboards
6. Test end-to-end functionality